Regional Development Australia Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula (RDAWEP) initiated and organised a recent Migration Tour of Whyalla “Living and Working in Whyalla”, along with assistance and generous support from the Whyalla City Council, Australian Migrant Resource Centre, the Heavy Industry Group, Education and Innovation Precinct Taskforce and Whyalla Tourism Focus Group, local community, businesses and industry leaders, to showcase the city’s skilled-job opportunities.

42 skilled migrants spend a couple of days in Whyalla to find out about job opportunities, housing availability, health services, education facilities and lifestyle options the city offers.

There is a huge shortage of skilled workers in our regional centres and this opportunity was one way to attract them. Regional centres are declining in numbers and every person and family that move to our towns brings extra economic benefit as they rent or buy homes, shop locally, access schools and health services and generally get involved in the community.

Juanita Walker, CEO of Whyalla Aged Care said “This was a great initiative for local business and they are currently in the process of employing a registered nurse from the recent migration tour. Many local health, aged care and disability businesses are struggling to find qualified staff.”

RDAWEP Economic Development Manager David Penfold said the Whyalla showcase went hand-in-hand with RDAWEP’s mission to help regions like Whyalla to develop industries, a skilled workforce and communities where people want to live and work in.

“It was fantastic to see all the Whyalla stakeholders working together to help build the future of the city,” David said.

“We now have 42 advocates who are going to carry the message that Whyalla is a great place to live and work, back to their communities that often consist of thousands of people.”

“Our visitors were all very motivated people and they are going to take this positive experience back to Adelaide to share with other skilled migrants who could potentially move to Whyalla and make a big difference to this city and community.”

This is a great opportunity for any regional town. If you are an employer with a skills shortage or struggling to recruit staff, please contact RDAWEP and we will try and match employees through the Australian Migrant Resource Centre.